Matt Damon Preps For Battle In New Elysium Photo

We have been spending so much time discussing superhero epics – from Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel to The Wolverine -- that we practically forgot that we still have Elysium to look forward to in August. And given the fact that Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 was one of the most challenging, rewarding sci-fi stories we’ve seen in years, we’re fired up to see what he has up his sleeve next.

The above image puts Elysium right back on our radar (click it for a higher resolution copy). In it, we see Matt Damon ready to square off against District 9 standout Sharlto Copley, who is playing an over-the-top vicious bounty hunter assigned with tracking down and killing Damon’s somewhat-good guy.

In the story, Damon is trying to make his way to Elysium, a community hovering in the stratosphere above our planet after Earth has been decimated by human society. He has been poisoned and needs to find a cure, and uses an exoskeleton to helm get him up to the exclusive community. Copley, meanwhile, is doing what he can to prevent Damon from reaching his destination.

We saw footage of Elysium back at Comic-Con, and the new trailer really amped up our anticipation for Blomkamp’s District 9 follow up. The duo, in interviews, have talked about a battle they filmed on a waste-management field, where fecal matter floated in the air and, as a result, in their mouths and noses. Could this image be from that scene?

Elysium opens in theaters on August 9th. Here’s the synopsis. Maybe its time fro Sony to drop another trailer in theaters soon?

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet’s crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium – but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens’ luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium’s Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.